Update | Banks rush to open branches before Shanghai free-trade zone anniversary
More branches, including first privately owned bank, set to open in Shanghai free-trade zone
The Shanghai free-trade zone, the mainland's first such economic experiment modelled on Hong Kong's free port system, is set to see a wave of new bank openings before its first anniversary, including the first privately owned bank.
Sources familiar with the situation told the that a newly established bank mainly funded by the Juneyao Group and other private investors would be launched in the free-trade zone in the next few months.
Juneyao is a major Shanghai-based privately owned industrial group. It has already begun hiring before the launch, said the sources.
In March, the central government gave new licences to five soon-to-be-launched privately owned banks, including Juneyao, in what was seen as a policy breakthrough.
The Shanghai free-trade zone, personally backed by Premier Li Keqiang, is regarded as a key experiment in the central government's economic reform effort, encouraging private sector investment and paring back restrictions on the international use of the yuan currency.
Li and other senior officials are expected to attend the first year anniversary celebration of the free-trade zone in October.
